Until I met you
by Elementalcrystals
Summary: After a typhoon left Bellamy shipwrecked, he meets his savior, a fishmen with a twisted sense of humor named Dellinger. They strike up a deal, Dellinger will care and attend to Bellamy's wounds if he promises to take Dellinger out shopping afterwards. Written for opreversebang 2016.


I know, I know, you're all angry because I haven't updated my other stories. I have the perfect excuse: One Piece Reverse Bang 2016! That's right I took part of the event this year and got the lovely pleasure of partnering up with Lycheeluv on tumblr. Please go check out the drawings for this story. I'll try to post the links onto my profile.

Anyways, I've always wanted to write these two and finally got the perfect opportunity to. I really hope you guys will like it.

* * *

Until I met you

His throat felt dry as he roused awake. He shifted, but his body jerked from the pain in his abdomen region. Curling up instinctively, he opened his dark colored eyes wondering where he was. He sat up immediately only to regret it from his wound. Holding onto his bandaged wound, he looked around. The room was dimmed from the setting sun. A bright orange sky could be seen through the hole in the roof above him. His eyes wandered around, noticing the deterioration of the wood and wondered how the house hadn't collapsed yet. Just where the hell was he?

The sound of utensils clashing against one another immediately, his eyes raced towards the sound. He turned towards the sound as he heard a high pitch voice.

"Ah! You're awake!" A young boy walked towards him holding a bowl of questionable soup. Though his clothing choices were just as peculiar. A faded pair of tight blue shorts with an interesting green shirt with a giraffe pattern. Blond shaggy hair with a white cap and horns on both sides. "And here I thought you died. You weren't moving for so long. You got lucky."

"Where am I?" His voice rasped out.

"In my house." He handed the cracked bowl. "Eat up. The liquid should help with your throat."

Bellamy looked towards it, raising a browless brow. "What… is it?"

"Food."

The questionable broth was murky with a lump of grayish pink meat. Splitting the meat in half to see it more pink now. He shifted what looks like fish from side to side before taking a bite. By now, he was positive that the meat was fish and it was extremely overcooked to death. The broth had no flavor to it. It was almost as if he was drinking warm water, but his throat appreciated it.

"So? How was it?"

"It was fine. Thanks for the meal." He set the bowl aside as he tried to get up. The boy immediately stopped him. Despite the small body, Bellamy could feel the strength in those small hands, pushing him back in bed.

"I'm not in the mood to drag you into bed again and besides you wouldn't last very long if that wound reopened. Not that I would lose any sleep over you dying." He pulled out a wanted poster of Bellamy himself. "You have money on you right?"

Bellamy scoffed. He should've known. Just a gold digging savior. He'll either have to kill him sometime tonight and take his leave or kill him now and leave. But first he needed information, even if the guy was only interested in his bounty. "If you're talking about my treasure, it's at the bottom of the sea now. Go swim for it if you want it."

"Oh, I've already retrieved it." He pointed to a sack in the corner.

"You what?" The blond stared at it in disbelief. Even if the memory was fuzzy, he definitely remembered that sack. And he definitely remembered leaving it when the entire ship was sinking to the bottom of the sea after the typhoon that they ran into. The ship had split into two if he had remembered correctly. If not, it would have at least been scattered into pieces. His last memory was holding onto one of the wooden pieces and this sharp pain in his abdomen.

He grinned widely. "Don't worry, I don't need all of it. I just want you to take me shopping when you're healed as payment." Folding his arm. "After all, I've gotta now feed another person and take care of you. It's only fair."

"Heh, you could easily buy whatever you want if you just handed me over to the Marines."

"I could. But I would like some company too. Even a pirate like you would be fine now and after shopping, you're free to go. Take the remainder of your gold too. I don't need it. That's the condition."

Bellamy frowned. For as long as he was a pirate, he knew every deal made often held strings that were loosely tied especially with other pirates. The guy in front of him didn't look like a pirate, he looked like any other civilian. Maybe a bit stupid for wanting a pirate's company, but he appeared harmless. "So all you want… is to go shopping?"

"Yup. Just buy whatever I want and afterwards, you're free to go."

"Why do I get this feeling that you're going to spend all my money?" He noticed the blond grinning at the thought. Damn the guy would suck at poker. "YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND ALL MY MONEY!"

"Kya! Have I've already been caught so soon?" Him grinning didn't help the situation as Bellamy fumed. "Nah, I've got a specific store that I want to go. It is a bit expensive. You have more than enough that it would only make a small dent in your pile."

The situation still felt fishy, but for now, he'll go with it. The guy was small and didn't look dangerous in any way. After all, he still felt this wave of fatigue over himself and the pain in his abdomen wasn't going away anytime soon. He still needed to figure out where the hell he was and the best route to escape. "Fine. I'll take you shopping." He could just ditch him in the middle of the night when he felt better to leave.

His grin turned into a genuine smile. "Really?"

Bellamy wavered a bit. The boy had honestly looked happy and excited. He scratched the back of his head. "Yea sure."

"Oh I'm Dellinger." He reached out to shake hands.

He returned the handshake. "Bellamy."

* * *

From his understanding, Dellinger had only found Bellamy drifting in the ocean with a large piece of wood piercing him. No one else was with him. The typhoon was a few hundred miles away from this island when he _happened_ to be out fishing. Bellamy wasn't sure who would be crazy enough to be out fishing while a typhoon was in the area, but after spending a few days with him, he slowly started to understand that Dellinger may not be the most sane human he's met.

Apparently while he was still unconscious, Dellinger had took it upon himself to go diving to find his treasure after recognizing him from the wanted posters. That had honestly shocked Bellamy, surely by then it was hundreds of miles beneath the water and why would he go through all that trouble, when he could've just handed him over while he was unconscious. It hadn't added up, but he figured Dellinger just didn't plan ahead.

"Heads up, Bells!"

Bellamy instinctively grabbed the wooden plank and blocked the incoming nail. He wasn't sure why Dellinger had decided to fix the roof without moving the bed. Part of him reasoned that the boy was actually plotting to kill him and this was one of his methods. The other part was that he found amusement in this, grinning each time he dropped a nail. Whether it was on purpose or not, he couldn't really do much about it. If he had moved, he was forced to be in bed by the little devil above him. He even had the horns to match.

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Well I could just yell out your name to the entire village for them to know you're here. But then I'll be a horrible host."

"You're already a horrible host! You're throwing nails at me!"

"Ah, ah," he wagged his finger. " _Accidentally_ dropping nails at you. None of them hit anyways, so you're fine."

Bellamy rolled his eyes at the guy's logic. The amount of sass he has gotten from him this week was starting to annoy him. If he was at his full strength, he would've easily gotten rid of him. Though if he really tried, he could probably get up and walk around, not that Dellinger would let him. He didn't want to change his bandages so often as he stated it was a pain and his torso used up too much of it. "Anyways, it's not exactly safe for a young boy to climb a roof. What if you fell?"

Dellinger raised a brow as he peaked down towards Bellamy. "Just how young do you think I am?"

"You're like a teen or something?" It was clear he was male, small built and barely at his shoulders. The voice was still high pitch, so he had figured, he was still young.

He huffed. "I'm considered an adult Bells." His voice suddenly deepen. And that startled Bellamy more than it should've. Dellinger laughed as he continued working, focusing on the roof.

He turned his head, slightly embarrassed at his assumptions. "You just don't look like it." Bellamy muttered.

Dellinger hummed. "Oops~" Clearly, Dellinger hadn't approved of the answer as a few more nails flew towards him much faster than the ones before."

Bellamy reacted quickly holding the plank in front of him. Three of them flew straight into the board with the end of the point just slightly sticking out of the back. Regardless of how small he looked, his strength wasn't something to laugh about. "That was on purpose!"

"Yes, yes it was." He sounded proud with his usually effeminate voice again. "In my race, I'm considered as an adult. So." He stuck his tongue out, but it only lasted a few seconds. There was a panic expression as he froze.

He stared puzzled by the sudden silence. "Hey, Dellinger, are you alright?"

"Yea… forget what I just said." He started hammering in the nails, this time without speaking a word. Bellamy was still unsure what had occurred to cause this moment of peace. He rested his head back down to watch Dellinger work. He had wanted to rest, but didn't want to risk a rain of falling nails.

Despite the small body, the small blond was without a doubt strong. Something Bellamy had underestimated. The outline of his muscles could be seen through the tightly fitted shirt. And his legs, long and slimmed, yet powerful from just a single kick. From what he's seen, the boy's legs was where all his strength came from. A single kick into the side of a tree had easily taken it down as if a saw had gone through it.

Dellinger appeared solemn as he focused on the objective in front of him. Bellamy took the chance to finally rest. With the mention of another rainstorm passing through, Dellinger has worked diligently on any part of the house to prevent it from flooding again. The typhoon that has left him stranded here was the cause of the current hole in the roof, but he still couldn't figure out what sane person would go out fishing in a typhoon. Oh right, Dellinger wasn't the most sane person. The guy was some sort of sadist. He enjoyed watching him in pain and putting him in dangerous situations such as this. And Bellamy, currently injured, couldn't do much to counter it besides yelling.

So while Dellinger was either busy or away to go fishing, Bellamy observed what he could from the windows. Dellinger has only spoken a little bit about the village nearby. The island on which he was stuck on wasn't known. At least the name didn't ring a bell. It was small, but there were docks on the western part of town which mean there were ships that he could hitch a ride on. There was only one village on the island and it was a few minutes walk from where Dellinger lived; by the shore.

This would explain why he has never seen a single person outside of the house nor has he seen Dellinger interact with anyone. What was even stranger was the fact that no one came here if there was a village nearby. Didn't they fish as a source of food? At least Dellinger did. No one ever showed up at the shore either just to enjoy the water or swim. They were utterly alone on this side of the island.

And then there was race. Bellamy's dark eyes opened again to look towards Dellinger again, who was currently reaching for a plank of wood. What had he meant by 'in my race?' Was he not human? Surely there were other types of creatures out there. He's traveled enough to see them. Sky people, fish people, other devil fruit users. He looked normal to him. He _looked_ human. And even if Bellamy was a devil fruit user, he has always referred to himself as human. So what does that make Dellinger if he wasn't human?

He had planned on sleeping again, closing his eyes. It didn't happen when he heard a yelp from above. His eyes immediately open and before he could react, Dellinger had landed right on his wound. He gritted his teeth, refusing to yell or scream, but he did let out a small whimper as he tried to curl up in pain. Dellinger's body didn't allow that and with every movement he made, it worsen the pain. He pushed his upper torso forward to see the horns impaling him. Who the fuck thought it would be a great idea to have real horns on a hat?

He reached forward slowly in attempts to check on Dellinger. He couldn't see his facial expression as he was faced the other way, but he appeared to be okay. He was still breathing, if anything he was probably just in a panic state. "Damn it Dellinger, you chose a lousy time to freak out." He supposed him being like this would be better than him freaking out. He tried to move Dellinger into a sitting position only to winch when the horns moved as well. He held the horns as he tried again. No luck. This time, he removed the hat. Third time's the charm, right? Upon closer inspection, the horns weren't attached to the hat, but it was a part of him instead.

"What the?" The next second, he screamed as the horns were ripped right out of him.

Dellinger had finally gotten up, he still looked a bit shaken up as he looked around before noticing Bellamy. "Bells! You're bleeding!"

"And who's fault do you think that was?!" His hand clutched onto the open wound, pressing down on it. As if his previous wound wasn't bad enough.

Dellinger was to the other side of the room in a flash grabbing whatever he needed as he tended to the wound. He pressed the clean cloth down to stop the bleeding. Bellamy laid there grunting from the pain. But his eyes focused on the smaller male. The one with a tiny yet strong body. There wasn't anything that stuck out to him that wouldn't make him human. The only real difference was the horns. His eyes squinted at them. It looked familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint where he saw it. Maybe he ate a devil fruit? No, he wouldn't have been able to get the treasure from his sinking boat. Well, if he couldn't figure it out, there was one way he could go about it.

"…so what are you?"

Dellinger kept his eyes on the wound. "…Human."

"A human wouldn't have horns on the side of their head."

"A human can't turn their legs into springs either, but you sure can."

He could sense the spitefulness from Dellinger's words. He figured, he could either let it go or continuing pushing. He wasn't one to pry, people kept secrets for reasons, and he wasn't one without secrets either. But, he also wanted to know that his _caretaker_ wasn't going to go just up and kill him in the middle of the night. Even if he also has those thoughts too.

"Well I ate the Spring-Spring Fruit. So I'm a human with devil fruit powers." Bellamy watched for a response, he couldn't see any reaction, but he could definitely feel the pain as Dellinger was cleaning the wound. "And you?" Dellinger stayed silent. His fingers stopped his ministration, staring at anywhere but in Bellamy's direction. "Well you're not from the Sky Island unless you've got wings hidden somewhere. You don't have a tail or scales, so you're not a fishmen. So that leaves-"

"But what if I'm a fishmen?"

Well, he didn't think he would get the answer that quickly. "So you're a fishmen then?"

"So what if I'm a fishmen? You got a problem with that?" His tone abruptly became deep and masculine. Dellinger stood up, a red glint in his eyes as he stared down the devil fruit user. The sudden air around him had turned menacing. Not like his usually teasing for the sake of annoying him. No, this suddenly put Bellamy on edge like he was ready for an attack.

Bellamy steadied himself. He was all for getting into a fight. After all, that was what he knew best to do. A fight was the easiest way to solve a problem. But in this situation, he wouldn't get very far with his known experiences with fishmen. Not with these injuries anyways. He could definitely escape if needed, his legs weren't damaged in any way. Unfortunately, he hated to run and he was no coward. So a verbal confrontation was the next best thing.

"Nope. You got a problem with devil fruit users?"

Dellinger's eyes narrowed. "No."

"Then we have no problems." Bellamy used his arms to lean his torso up. The tension hasn't left and there was so much Bellamy could do before he really would have to escape. He wasn't good at verbal confrontation, but he had to find a way to settle this. "Look. I don't know what kind of people you've met, but you're talking to a pirate now." That made Dellinger raise a brow. "I've met a lot of weird creatures on my adventure. I could care less what you are. As long as you're not bothering me or out to kill me, then we don't have any problems."

"A pirate is still human."

"And a fishmen could be a pirate." The tension was slowly fading as Dellinger only looked at him with confusion. "You haven't done anything to me to think you're a threat. And unless you're a bounty hunter in disguise, I don't need to worry." And even if he didn't want to admit it. Dellinger was interesting company to have. Even if his "jokes" tend to go a bit far. He had almost forgotten what it meant to have someone to talk to.

But that seemed to do the trick as the murder intent was no longer there. Dellinger pushed him back down onto the bed once he had finished bandaging the new wound. "Lay down." He ordered in his effeminate voice., not like Bellamy had a choice as Dellinger hovered over him. "To be clear, I'm not just a fishmen. I'm part fighting fish fishmen." He tapped the tip of Bellamy's nose grinning. "Don't forget that, Bells."

* * *

"You have no idea how to cook, do you?" A few days have passed and Bellamy was back on his feet again. He was glad to finally be walking again. Any type of movement was better than being stuck in bed to prevent him from opening his wound. He understood the reasoning behind it. He just didn't like it. The moment Dellinger had told him that his wound was healed, he had jumped out of bed enjoying his mobile freedom. It was strange, he never would've thought that was something he would miss.

Since finding out about his fighting fish heritage, he has noticed the differences in how Dellinger would present himself. At least once a day, Dellinger would leave to go fishing and came back normally, dried with a bunch of fish in the bucket. Now, Dellinger didn't bother with that. He was still wet when he returned, only shaking his hair like a dog to remove some of the water. He's also found the reasoning behind the bite marks in the fishes. He's gotten to see those sharp teeth whenever the man grinned. And then there was the dorsal fin that he often hid. Now it stuck out from his weird shirt and the only time it had disappeared was when he was sleeping.

Since Dellinger had only owned one bed, the fishmen slept with Bellamy often using him for warmth when the night gotten cold and making sure the man didn't leave and do something stupid to open up his wound. He had protest, but they fell deaf to Dellinger's ears. He simply crawled in and slept immediately, curled up against him like a cat. He almost found the fishmen cute when he's asleep. He shook his head as he focused on the problem at hand currently: Dellinger's cooking.

Dellinger frowned as he tossed a fish into the pot in attempts to cook it. The fish was still squirming around, bleeding and Bellamy could only wonder how he managed to cook the other meals before. Not that they were any better. All of the fish he had gotten were often overcooked and lack any taste.

"I wouldn't have this problem if you could eat raw fish."

"If you're a fishmen-"

"Ah, ah. _Fighting fish_ fishmen."

He rolled his eyes, folding his arms. "Right, if you're that, isn't it cannibalism if you eat fish?"

Dellinger grinned, showing off those sharp teeth. "Well we could eat humans, but then you guys would complain." Dellinger grinned, showing off those sharp teeth of his. He was sure those teeth could rip through flesh if he wanted to. "Sadly, we don't see humans underwater often enough, so that would be a problem in food supply, wouldn't it?"

And there was that sense of humor Dellinger was so very fond of. "Do you eat anything else besides fish?"

"Of course I do, but that would require cooking it."

This time, Bellamy grinned. "So you admit, you can't cook?"

He folded his arm, turning his head as he pouted. "So what? I prefer raw fish." Bellamy could tell he was lying, he was a horrible liar from what he understood. Though anything that held some truth was often used as an insult. "Besides I bet you can't cook either, Bells."

"Oh? You wanna bet on that?" He wasn't the greatest cook. He had usually let his on chef on board take care of that, but he could easily grill something and he was decent enough in cooking to at least make something edible compared to Dellinger's.

He had assumed Dellinger would probably back out until he saw a smirk. "Okay, but you'll have to go fishing with me to get ingredients."

"Devil fruit users can't swim." He would drown in an instant once he hit water and he wasn't looking for a watery grave so soon.

"Oh don't worry," Bellamy saw a glint in his eyes. He could only imagine what the insane fishmen was thinking. "I can take care of that."

"You can't teach me how to swim either, it doesn't work that way." This time, Dellinger smiled as he turned to deal with the fish currently flailing itself to death. It was odd, but somehow it reassured him. Like he would actually take care of everything. He wasn't sure if he actually would though. "Fine, then I get to take you flying."

There was this alarmed look that crossed his face as he missed stabbing the fish. Though Bellamy was more concerned on why Dellinger thought it was wise to kill the fish while still in the pot thrashing about. "You can't fly. Humans can't fly." There was still this panic tone in his voice, but his composure had returned back to normal.

"No," watching as Dellinger attempted to prep the fish. "But I can jump high enough to feel like flying. It's only fair, isn't it? Besides, I've heard fighting fish can jump over a hundred feet into the air. Maybe even higher."

"Now you're just bullshitting me."

"Nope, I had the pleasure of seeing a fighting fish jump over a bridge while heading towards Dressrosa. I had forgotten those horns were similar to that fish until you mentioned it." But that also left Bellamy wondering what someone with a descent of a fighting fish be doing all the out here? He has never seen any fighting fish outside of Dressrosa. If this island is only a few hundred feet away from where he shipwrecked, then they were no where near the New World. It would take days, maybe weeks, depending on the conditions of the weather to arrive there. And from what he remembered, those fish swam in packs. So why is Dellinger out here by himself?

Dellinger frowned as he contemplating wanting to go, but knowing that his fear of heights would stop him from doing so. Even if the fishmen didn't want to admit his acrophobia. It was clear, he was terrified of it. Eventually Dellinger stomped his foot on the ground. "Fine, but we're going fishing first."

And that's how they were now on the beach. Bellamy scratched the back of his head as he stood on the shore. He hadn't honestly believed that he would go through with this and yet here he was. Last time, he at least had acquaintances with him if he had fallen off the ship. Now he had a fishmen whose motives can be borderline sadistic to insane depending on his mood.

Dellinger popped his head out of the sea waving to him. "Alright, come out here"

Bellamy hesitated, this was basically walking into his own grave with Dellinger being at the end of the tunnel. He wasn't sure if he should start laughing at the irony of it or not. The one that saved him is essentially the one that could possibly kill him now. He could just run. Jump high into the air and head towards the docks. Pretend all of this had never happen and continue on his merry way back to Dressrosa.

And yet. His legs took him out to sea as he waded through the water towards the grinning fishmen. He couldn't fathom the fact that he was basically trusting a complete stranger with his life. But Dellinger wasn't a stranger, at least he couldn't see him as one now. The small man had a twisted sense of humor. He's overly proud of his heritage and couldn't cook to save his life. But at the same time, Dellinger took him into his house and took care of him, a complete stranger whose a pirate no less with a known bounty.

He could feel his energy start to fade as the water gotten a little over his knees. That sensation only grew the further he got out. He felt heavier, like the bottom half of him turned to lead. His feet dragged against the sand, but he pushed forward. He still haven't fully recovered from his wound, but they stung like needles piercing into his stomach. As soon as the water got up towards his shoulders, he couldn't feel any of his strength as he fell forward into the water only for Dellinger grab him.

"Ah! So you really do lose your strength in seawater? And here I thought you were joking. Devil fruit users are kind of a hassle in the water then. Oh, Bells you look…" He couldn't hear the rest of it. Dellinger's voice had faded in his ears. It wasn't a long walk to where Dellinger was, but he had felt so exhausted. He could feel himself being dragged above the water, but right now he just wanted to sleep.

And as quickly as he blacked out, he woke up. His head turned side to side at the unfamiliar surrounding. It had amazed him the variation of fishes that swam around him. The tiniest of fishes to one the size of a sea king; all in a variation of different colors. None of them seemed bothered by him as they swam as they so pleased. Even a tiny school of red fish swam close enough for him to touch if he had wanted to. He had remembered a similar sensation when he crossed the Red Line into the New World. But now it left him with one question: where was Dellinger?

He figured, this wasn't how a devil fruit user would die. Stuck forever wandering the ocean. As pretty as it could be, he would be bored quickly with no one around. But just to confirm, he pinched his arm. _At least I'm still alive._

Before going into the ocean, Dellinger had mentioned that he would be able to go underwater through the use of a bubbly coral. The bubble was similar to the ones in Sabaody and had kept air inside for him to breath. That was good enough for him. He leaned back against the bubble and looked around to see if he could possibly detect the fishmen swimming somewhere. The mass amount of fishes had made it difficult to find until he noticed the rope that was attached to him. His eyes trailed along the rope where he noticed the fishmen swimming ahead. He looked even smaller from further away. But he could pinpoint those bright blue pants.

With a slight tug, he noticed Dellinger stopping and turning around. Like a bullet flying, Dellinger sped through the water and within seconds he felt a heavy impact into his torso. If he was still unsure if was dead or not, this definitely proved he wasn't. Thin arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him forward into a hug. He could feel him shaking slightly as Dellinger buried his head into Bellamy's neck. He wasn't sure what had happened to cause this reaction. The man looked frighten similar to the time when he fell from the roof. Slowly, Bellamy's reached around him, rubbing his back.

Dellinger pulled away, looking into his dark eyes. "Bells! I thought you died! You were sinking like a rock and you wouldn't talk or move or anything."

As Dellinger spoke, all Bellamy noticed were those brilliant red eyes. They were slightly larger than his normal dark colored eyes. The red eyes glowed beautifully. He was sure that it would've intimidate those that fought the fishmen. But for him, he hadn't felt any fear from it from the first moment he saw it. It almost felt… Warm to him. It gave him a sense of comfort. Suddenly he flushed at those thoughts. "Y-yea… Sorry."

"I figured if you died, you'd want to die with your friends. So I was swimming there." Bellamy's eyes turned towards him and then Dellinger suddenly grinned. "And even if you were still alive, I figured you wanted to be put out of your misery."

His eyes narrowed. "Now you're just fucking with me, aren't you?"

"Kya~" Dellinger swam out of the bubble before Bellamy could grab him. He swam around the bubble, smiling happily. "Too slow, you gotta be faster than that Bells."

Bellamy grinned, "I don't need to be faster." He started to pull on the rope bringing Dellinger back to him. "Just smarter." He grabbed onto his wrist to pull him into the bubble.

Dellinger laughed, sitting on Bellamy's lap. "Fine, no watery grave? And here I wanted to keep your grave a secret place that only I could visit. Well you'll be with your crew so I guess-"

"My original crew have been long dead." And with that, Dellinger smile left him, replacing it with a solemn expression. "The ones on that ship were only acquaintances who happened to go the same direction as I was."

Dellinger turned away, muttering out a 'sorry'. Bellamy only sighed as he leaned back against the bubble, watching the fish. "Don't worry, it's been a while."

Dellinger scratch the back of his head. "Is it wrong to ask what happened?"

He wasn't sure what possessed him to talk about his dead crew. He never bothered talking to anyone else about it at least none of the details and yet, he told him. He told him about wanting to test something after a certain event in Mock Town. He figured what the hell? He didn't have much to lose and took a risk going to this nonexistent place. His crew told him it was stupid and they would only be giving up their lives for nothing, but he wanted to prove something. If that place really didn't exist, then everything that the Straw Hat pirate said was complete an utter nonsense. That there really wasn't a place for dreams in this world. The New Age was coming fast, and there wasn't a need for big dreams. He just wanted to prove him wrong.

The risk was big, he knew how the knock up stream worked and if this really was something made up, there was a high chance that none of them would survive falling back down to the sea. But on the off chance that this was real. If the sky island was real. Then how many other myths would be real as well? He wanted to test it.

And the sky island turned out to be very real. It had shocked him to know that there really was an island floating in the sky. But the reality of the risk he took was devastating. Only a handful had survived getting up there. And none survived the fall back down to the blue sea. Hell he almost didn't survive the return fall. He only gotten lucky that some passenger ship had decided to help him or he was sure to die in those waters too.

"I've learned two things that day. One, the scrawny pirate I fought was right. Even if I hate to admit it. I can't mock him because I've seen the island with my own two eyes. It made me wonder just what other places are real and what dreams could survive in this New Age."

"What was the second thing you learned?"

"That the dream that I've always had as a kid wasn't enough. I thought just being able to use his jolly roger was enough. That being in an alliance was enough. That when the New Age of pirates came, we would be riding it, if not pushing it forward for him. But I've only disgraced his jolly roger. And now without a crew, I've decided to pursue that dream once again and join Doflamingo's crew."

Dellinger blinked. "Doflamingo? He's a warlord, isn't he?"

Bellamy smiled. "Yea, I've looked up to him since I was a child." And he still looked up to him to this day. He's always admire the man's ideals since he was a teen. He just needed to find a way to join the crew. "Let's go catch some fish."

Dellinger had swam forward pulling Bellamy and the bubble along. He stated that he would catch the fish and Bellamy would hold them. The situation was fine with him as he couldn't catch them anyways. He watched the fishmen ahead of him. There was this determined face as he was looking side to side for whichever fish that had the unfortunate luck of becoming dinner tonight.

He was about to tell him just pick whichever when, without warning, the fishmen sped off dragging the bubble along with him. He wasn't scared, hell, he's probably gone around the same speed when he used his springs. But he was terrified about being pulled out of the bubble. Dellinger was zipping through the water chasing down a school of fish. Eventually the fish started to scatter and Dellinger followed after one of the larger fish clamping down on it with his sharp teeth. It flailed for a few seconds before laying still.

He returned back to Bellamy who was nearly out of the bubble by then. Dellinger had pushed him back into the bubble before tossing the fish in too. "How many fishes do you think we'll need to get? We could probably try to find some shellfish too. I know a good location."

"You nearly drowned me again!"

"But I didn't and even if you did fall out, just trust me, I'll save you." He held the rope, grinning. "We're attached after all."

"How about we don't risk it incase you don't notice?"

The fishmen huffed. He wasn't surprised that Dellinger found this utterly amusing. "Fine… then hold onto my dorsal fin."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to suddenly retract it, are you?"

"Now would _I_ ever do such a thing?"

"You would." Dellinger laughed before getting closer for Bellamy to hold on. As soon as he had touched the dorsal fin, Dellinger started to speed after another fish. He gripped tightly onto the fin noticing the texture of it. It was rough and rigid from the cartilage underneath it. From afar, he had always assume it would be smooth. Regardless, he held on as tight as he could, bringing himself close to the fishmen.

Apparently, having Dellinger drag Bellamy all over the ocean seas hadn't slowed him down. If anything, it had appeared that he was going faster than before. He easily caught fish, snapping his sharp teeth onto any fish he could get. A few times, if the fish was small enough, he would swallow it whole before continuing his hunt. Eventually, when they had deemed it was enough, they had headed toward the ocean floor in search for any other types of seafood. Dellinger had dug up a bunch of mussels and clams proceeding to shove it all onto Bellamy to hold, along with the rest of the pile of bleeding fish on his lap.

"Do you think that's enough?"

"I'm just glad that the clams and mussels aren't bleeding."

Dellinger giggled. "Well now you can go shopping for new pants too."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Let's just head back. The smell of dead fish isn't that pleasant after an hour."

"Fine." Dellinger had looked around before pausing as he stared out into the sea. "I think we're near where your ship sunk."

"So this is what you meant by, you were _fishing_."

Dellinger grinned. "It's a good mixture here if you can't tell. There's a current that brings all the fishes here."

"Do you think we could go to the ship?"

"We could, but you might be targeted by seas kings with the amount of fish we're carrying."

Bellamy had looked down at the pile of fish before looking back at Dellinger. "Then can you go?" Dellinger looked at him wondering what else could be considered important on that ship. And Bellamy understood that. After all, the treasure was most likely the most valuable thing on there.

He had left behind an important journal on the ship. He figured it would be damaged by now, but he would still prefer having it in his possession even if it the ink had probably disappeared. One of his late crewmates had kept a journal documenting the places they've been. It wasn't direly important, but it was one of the few things he had left of his crew. Even if he hated to be sentimental, he still missed them. Even he realizes how lonely it was when his large crew had suddenly died before him.

He had described it to Dellinger and told him where it would be, in the top drawer of the desk. Dellinger grinned knowing exactly where to look, apparently, he had remembered seeing something similar to it when he tracked down the treasure. Dellinger removed the rope around his waist before attaching it to a piece of coral to prevent Bellamy from floating away in a current.

"Don't get eaten Bells!" Before flying through the water towards the wreckage.

He still watched in awe as the fishmen disappeared once he got far enough. It still amazed him how quickly the fishmen could swim in water. He's never had the opportunity to fight one, especially not in water. And he honestly hoped he wouldn't have to.

He leaned back against the bubble watching the fish swim around the coral. It was peaceful and quiet like when he woke up earlier. No sounds, but a beautiful scenery before him. He could, however, do without the rotten fish smell. Fish of all colors swam around the coral without a care. They didn't approach the bubble Bellamy was in, but he figured it was the bleeding fish in his possession.

As he watched, he noticed that they suddenly started to swim away. Bellamy raised a brow. Did they finally realized that a human was here? It wasn't until a dark shadow loomed behind him that he grasped the situation. Bellamy quickly turned around, his eyes widening as a sea king stood before him.

It was massive in size, a serpent like body and red gleaming eyes, rearing it's teeth ready to devour Bellamy. Bellamy cursed himself. _Of all the rotton luck, I swear Dellinger jinxed me._

It was staring him down, most likely wondering if Bellamy was going to make a move. The devil fruit user knew better. At that moment, he knew there was no way he could fight the beast. Not while in a bubble surrounded by the ocean. He could barely move in this godforsaken bubble as is.

He stood as best as he could on top of the dead fish. The last thing he wanted to do was run, that wasn't his style in a fight. But even he knew how badly disadvantaged he was in this situation. Surely, he was only going to make matters worst, but he's not about to become another fish's dinner. He crouched slightly as his legs turned into springs. If he was going to die so soon, might as well attempt to put up some type of fight. He placed a mussel within his hand.

As he took aim, the sea king was about to open it's mouth. Bellamy wasn't going to allow that as he zoomed out of the bubble slamming himself and the shellfish right into the monster's eye. He had felt the impact and was sure that the beast did too as it started to flail. Blood was slowly seeping into the water, most dissipating into the ocean.

He wasn't sure if it was enough to keep the sea king from attacking him. He could have ended up angering it instead, but right now he couldn't feel anything. His body was completely immobile and the energy that he had once before instantly depleted. As he felt his body slowly sinking, he had resolve to himself that he wasn't going to see another day again. That this was how he was going to die.

Immediately Dellinger's face had came into his mind. With the last of his energy, he turned his head towards where Dellinger had swam off to. He wished he could see him one last time. Even if the fishmen had a twisted sense of humor, he realized that he's enjoyed the time he spent with him. As he was running out of air and his vision started to blur, he had thought he heard Dellinger.

* * *

His body jolted as he woke up. Upright, he quickly looked around for the sea king. Only, he noticed he was no longer surrounded by the ocean, but by air on the shore. And beneath him was no longer the dead fish, but the soft sand. Immediately, he started looking around for Dellinger only to find the sea king just behind him. Within seconds, he was on his feet ready to fight, but the sea creature didn't make a single move as it laid there dead.

"And here I thought you had at least some brain cells left, Bells." Dellinger giggled as he poked his head out from behind the serpent. "Who would've thought you would still fight in the ocean. You could've died if I haven't gotten there in time."

And he had expected it to. He honestly had thought he was going to die in some sea king's stomach. But on some stroke of luck, Dellinger came back at the right time. He let out a relieved sigh before plopping back down on the sand. "Thanks Dellinger. You really saved me there."

Dellinger had looked a bit shocked at the response. He bent over, looking at Bellamy. "Did you really think you were going to die?"

"It's not like I could swim or do much damage to the beast."

"I've noticed." Dellinger grinned widely. "But as promised, I saved you."

"Smug bastard." But he was thankful. This was the second time he had thought he would die, but somehow Dellinger had kept him alive.

He felt something land on his lap. A familiar journal laid there and he smiled, holding it up. "You were able to get it."

"It wasn't hard to find, but the desk had knocked over so I had to find another way to get to the journal. I left it open to dry while you were unconscious. It seems to be fine now, but I think some of the wording was damaged."

Bellamy had carefully opened it, looking through the pages. The words looked faded, some were unreadable and every page was wrinkled. He was a bit disappointed that some of the pages were indeed more damaged than others, regardless, having the journal back in his possession was enough.

"So Bells, I'm glad you're all happy and thrilled about your journal, but how are you going to cook that?"

He set the journal aside, opening up the pages for it to continue drying. As he got up to look at the dead sea king, he recognized the shell that was still stuck in it's eye. He down from the corner of his eye to the small fishmen. Just how dangerous can he be?

He walked around the beast to see what had killed it. No matter how much it would inflate his own ego, there was no way Bellamy could've taken him out with just a shell. It would be impressive though. Upon closer inspection, he noticed holes within the side of the creature. Several holes indicating the amount of times it's been impaled. Bellamy has gotten a taste of the impact of those horns first hand so he could only imagine the pain.

He looked towards Dellinger, who was currently looking through the journal. If Dellinger had learned how to fight, he could be formidable in combat. He wondered how he would fair if the two had met in a different circumstances; on opposite sides against one another.

Bellamy started up a fire. They didn't really have many ingredients besides seafood, so the next best thing is to have it cook overtop an open fire. While he was tending to the food, making sure to turn it so it would cook evenly, Dellinger had asked him about his adventures. Especially those on Sky Island. Most of it was documented in the journal by his crewmate, but after he survived, he decided to keep it updated when he had remembered.

Despite how terrible the memory of losing his crewmates were, Sky Island was the location that broaden his horizons. So he spoke fondly of it, explaining to Dellinger about the people that lived in the sky. He spoke of Fishmen Island, a location deep under the sea and about the various fish people that lived there. He's only been there once to get into the New World, but it was definitely a sight to see.

"Oh! Bells!" Dellinger smiled, holding the book up and pointing at a drawing. "Are these Fighting Fish?"

Bellamy had looked over, remembering the picture. It was his first time to Dressrosa. He had wanted Doflamingo's approval again. He wanted the man to recognize him for some worth. So after Sky Island, he made his way towards Dressrosa. While the boat was coming in, he had noticed the Fighting Fish near an area called Green Bit. Even from a distance, he could see how massive they were. And he's gotten the liberty to see them up close when he had competed in the colosseum.

They were massive in size. Black with glowing red eyes, teeth that were ready to rip anything that got in it's way. Horns that reminded him of a bull, their temper had matched well enough for the comparison. The description only made Dellinger bounce around like a little kid.

"Have you never seen them before?"

"Nope, but I remember being told that I was part fighting fish when I was younger."

This had made Bellamy think. Dellinger, despite what he said, was still pretty young in the mindset of maturity. For him to willingly accept a stranger's company when there was a village nearby full of people. He appeared a bit naïve of how the world went when dealing with pirates. He still found it strange that Dellinger is alone when Fighting Fish are usually together. Actually fishmen in general usually didn't appear that far away from Fishmen Island especially way out here near the beginning of the Grandline. What had happened to him that left him here alone?

"Dellinger, I've always wondered about this, but how did you get here on this island? It's actually strange to see a fishmen this far out of the Grandline." And to see a Fighting Fish bloodline nowhere near Dressrosa.

The excitement he had quelled and the fishmen became silent. Bellamy turned towards him. It was strange to see Dellinger quiet. He had pulled his hat down to cover his eyes as he looked everywhere else that wasn't in Bellamy's direction. Bellamy decided it wasn't a topic that the fishmen wanted to talk about, so he left it at that.

"It's fine, I was just curious. Food's ready."

* * *

Dellinger kept his distance away from Bellamy, who was grinning almost madly at being able to get back at the fishmen. By now, Dellinger had deemed him to be fully healed and ready to go. That was fantastic news for Bellamy as he was itching to get back to Dressrosa. He still had to a part of a deal to take care of. Well, two of them to be exact. This one, he was much more excited for.

"Come now Dellinger, you've gotta keep up your end of the deal." He was giddy to be able to finally turn the tables on the little sadistic fishmen.

"Shut up!" Dellinger kicked him in the shins. Bellamy immediately kneeled over holding onto his leg. He knew Dellinger's main strength was in his legs and he may have slightly regretted poking fun at him. "Don't act all smug for a pirate who can't even swim!"

"Damn it Dellinger! You could've broken a bone!" He snarled as he rubbed it, checking to make sure nothing was seriously broken. If anything, he'll just have a bad bruise for a few weeks. The fishmen huffed, folding his arms. Bellamy sighed as he stood up straight again, so he may have stepped over a bit too much knowing full well how scared the fishmen was with heights. But he figured, the fishmen had deserved a bit of it after some of the stunts, he's had to go through with him. "I don't understand why you're scared of heights. It's pretty cool being able to be high up in the sky. The people below look small and the view that you can only see at that height."

"I'm a fishmen, why would I even need to be up in the sky when I only need to swim to catch my food. It's not like we eat birds."

"Because it's in your bloodline." Bellamy held his hand out. "Come on, trust me on this. I won't drop you."

He hesitated giving Bellamy a suspicious look, but eventually climbed onto the taller man. "Those muscles better not be for show, I'll haunt you in the afterlife if I die."

He rolled his eyes before wrapping his arm around the fishmen's slim waist lifting him up slightly. Dellinger had wrapped his arms around Bellamy's thick neck, pressing himself against the man. In all honesty, he would find this extremely embarrassing if the fishmen wasn't choking him.

He used his free arm trying to get Dellinger to loosen his grip. "We're both going to die if you choke me to death!"

Dellinger's eyes were shut tight, but he loosen his grip slightly only for the small slender fingers to grip onto Bellamy's shirt. Even if Dellinger didn't want to say anything, it was clear, he was scared. He adjusted his hold, holding the fishmen close to him. "I promise I won't drop you." After making sure he had a tight hold on Dellinger, he crouched down, turning his legs into springs. He looked around, considering what was the highest point on the island. Spotting the mountains in the back, he grinned. _Perfect._ As he locked in on where he wanted, he jumped.

He missed how it feels to jump high in the air. That rush that surges through him as he hit the highest point before gravity pulled him back towards the ground. Hell, since he's eaten this devil fruit, that's all he ever did. It beats staying around in a stagnant location filled with old rich fucks that only cared about the prospects of the future. That wasn't enough for Bellamy, he wanted so much more in life. He wanted the thrill. He wanted something in the present.

As he landed on one of the rooftops in the village before continuing on his way towards the tallest mountain on this island. He could feel the small fishmen shaking against him. His arms were once again wrapped tightly around his neck. It hadn't impeded on his movement, so hadn't mention it to Dellinger as he continue on towards the top of the mountain.

As he got closer, with one last sprint, jumping as high as he could to get to the top in one leap. He landed on a flat surface, proud that he had gotten there without any problems, before his cheeks stained red at the situation. Dellinger had his legs wrapped around Bellamy's waist, his arms were still wrapped tightly with his face buried into Bellamy's neck.

He had tried to pry him off, but Dellinger only tighten his grip. "O-oi… We're here, Dellinger."

It had took a few minutes before Dellinger peaked out ensuring that they were indeed on the ground again. By then Bellamy had sat down, watching the sun about to set. He watched Dellinger from the corner of his eye. The fishmen had looked around before slowly getting off of him. Immediately, Dellinger watched in awe of the sunset in front of him.

Before them, the village has gotten much smaller and the people looked like the size of ants. As Dellinger said, the docks were located in the western part of town. Bellamy couldn't tell which boat was which, but there wasn't any Marine boat from what he could tell. Beyond that was the ocean, stretched as far as the eye could see. The sun was in the distance slowly heading towards it's descent into the ocean.

"Never seen a sunset before?"

"Not very often, I usually see the sunrise…" He trailed off as he watched the ocean swallow up the sun.

Bellamy should have focus on the sunset, but he found Dellinger's reaction much more interesting to watch. His eyes were entranced by the sun. His entire expression convey so much genuine fascination that left Bellamy captivated. Once Dellinger had turned his head, Bellamy immediately turned away, not wanting the fishmen to catch him staring.

"Thank you for bringing me up here safely and showing me the sunset."

Bellamy blinked, turning towards him, surprised at the statement. "You saved me from the sea king, it's the least I could do."

Dellinger had stayed quiet as he looked out to the ocean. Bellamy had turned to the ocean as well. He wondered what the fishmen was thinking when he looked to the ocean. Eventually it started to grow dark and Bellamy looked over to Dellinger who was still looking out. "Dellinger, we should head back." He got up, but noticed the fishmen had stayed. He was about to call out again, but Dellinger cut him off.

"I was abandoned Bells."

"…huh?"

"Your question yesterday. I was abandoned. I don't remember my actual parents, but a family had decided to take me in and raised me in Spider Miles. They seemed okay with me, I was after all half human. They were nice, giving me their love and attention and were always there for me when I needed them." He started to grip his arms tightly. "Until my fishmen side started to show. My eyes would turn red and I would scare my family in the middle of the night. I didn't know how to retract my fin, so they always told the other parents that I wanted to be a shark when I grew up, but I could tell they were becoming distant. They wouldn't accept my fishmen side." Dellinger hugged his legs, resting his head on top of it.

Bellamy sat back down next to him, waiting for him to continue.

"Then one day, I accidentally bit one of the students at school."

"…how did you accidentally bite someone?"

He frowned. "A guy was making fun of my horns, so I bit him. I would've tore off his arm if he hadn't started crying and alerted the teachers." He muttered bitterly.

Bellamy knew that this was a rather serious moment, but he couldn't help laughing quietly at the thought of Dellinger ripping someone's arm off for that.

"I was labeled as a freak of nature by town and fled into the ocean. The currents dragged me out to this island and I've been here ever since."

"You're label as a freak of nature?" Dellinger nodded. "Well, I guess that makes two of us."

Dellinger raised a brow as he looked at him. "But you're-"

Bellamy turned his legs into springs to prove his point. "This," he pointed toward his legs. "Isn't exactly deemed human or normal."

"You're still human."

"And you're half human, but you fooled me for a good while until you fell off of the roof and your horns impaled me."

This made Dellinger smile a bit. "I just wanted to keep you around longer. I thought this was the best move."

"You're always full of shit, you know that?"

Dellinger hummed happily as he looked up to the night sky. "And here I thought that's was what you loved about me."

Though he won't admit it out loud, he actually did enjoy Dellinger's remarks. Even if it was at his expense sometimes. "Why didn't you leave this island? There's not much to do. If you hadn't told me about the village, I would've thought it was a deserted island."

"The currents. It's impossible to swim out unless you're in a boat or you're a sea king. Smaller fish are pushed back towards the island."

"So you've been alone out here since you were a child?"

"Yea and you've been alone since your crewmates died, so puts us into the same boat."

"As long as the boat doesn't get destroyed, then yes, we're on the same boat." Dellinger laughed causing Bellamy to grin. "Since we're in the same boat, when I leave, do you want to come along?"

He raised a brow. "And become a pirate?"

"You're strong enough to protect yourself." Plus after thinking things through the last few days, he found that he couldn't bring himself to leave Dellinger here alone. Even if they had only know each other for a short while, Dellinger felt important to him.

Dellinger hummed. "I'll think about it."

* * *

He honestly hadn't expected to stay this long. He figured once he was better, he would leave before this moment had happened. Yet, he stayed and he didn't regret it. Dellinger has been overly excited since he's woken up. He was just surprised that the house hasn't toppled over from the amount of energy bouncing off the walls. As soon as they ate, Dellinger was pulling him towards the village.

It was strange; he wouldn't think he would start seeing Dellinger strange without his fishmen features. To him, seeing the gleaming red eyes, the sharp teeth, the way he kept knocking things over with his dorsal fin was normal, but he supposed looking human was something Dellinger was forced to do around other humans. From the start, he wouldn't have imagined the small blond was a fishmen until the incident. Now he can't imagine him as anything else.

He hadn't gone into the town once beside when he was jumping over it to head towards the mountains. From what he remembered, the town wasn't anything special when he saw it. It was a simple village that welcomed travelers as the docks had a variety of ships, including pirates.

Bellamy's dark eyes searched through the street they were walking on before finding the store he needed. "Dellinger, before we go anywhere, I need to get something."

"Oh? What do you need to buy?"

"Sunglasses." Bellamy walked into the store. It probably wasn't necessary, but he did like wearing them too. He had lost his old pair during the shipwreck, might as well buy new ones.

"Are you trying to hide from the Marines? Because this island isn't under watch by one."

"No… but usually if there's pirates around in an area without Marines, there are always bounty hunters lurking around." He spoke while browsing through a few pairs of sunglasses.

Dellinger hummed as he was looking through some of the glasses. "I don't think sunglasses would matter."

"And why's that?"

"You're wearing the exact same clothes as in the wanted picture. If that's not a dead giveaway, then those hunters are blind."

He flushed a bit. "I also like to wear sunglasses, Dellinger."

He scoffed before picking up a pair. "Oh! Bells, you should buy these!" Dellinger grinned slipping the glasses onto Bellamy.

Bellamy had frowned at him expecting Dellinger to pick something at random. But looking into the mirror, he noticed that they had fit nicely and it was the perfect shade of black. He looked at Dellinger suspiciously. "Something's up, you actually picked something was nice."

Dellinger huffed. "Excuse you, _I_ know how to look nice." Bellamy had raised a brow, looking at his current clothing ensemble, but decided not to say a word. "Besides, that's not the reason, look at the brand name." He spoke excitedly.

Bellamy had removed his shades before turning it to the side, noticing the brand name 'Bellinger' on the inside. Dellinger was grinning mischievously. "It's like they put our names together. Isn't that a thing couples do?"

"So now we're a couple?"

"Well if we are, you're a horrible boyfriend."

Bellamy looked at him dumbfounded. "What?! If anything you're worst than I am. Throwing nails and plotting to kill me at the bottom of the ocean."

Dellinger touched the man's biceps. "That was all out of love, Bells." Bellamy scoffed at his answer and went to pay for the glasses. "Besides you never even gave me flowers on our first date."

"And when was that?"

"During the sunset, which was really romantic, Bells. So I guess that makes up for it."

Bellamy chuckled, but headed out of the store with Dellinger skipping along. The only thing Bellamy had to buy were a different pair of pants. Especially since the stain from the fish blood hadn't faded and the smell of fish wouldn't leave no matter how many times he washed it. It had only taken a single store for him to find and have a new pair on. Dellinger on the other hand was having a field day. Every store they had gone into, he had tried on anything he liked. Sometimes Bellamy would be sitting by the changing area nearly falling asleep only to have Dellinger wake him up seconds later to ask if he liked the outfit.

As they were in the fifth store, Bellamy was sitting at a chair, burying his face into his hands. He was bored out of his mind, but it seemed like Dellinger was enjoying himself. He noticed the man walked up to him with a gleam in his eyes.

Bellamy narrowed his eyes. "What?" He then noticed the piece of fabric in his hands. "You are not dressing me up."

"Kyahahaha~ But you would look amazing in a dress."

"Fuck you. If you think the dress looks so amazing, then you wear it."

Dellinger blinked before looking at the dress, pondering before grinning. "Alright." Before Bellamy could stop him, he ran into one of stalls to change.

"Damn it Dellinger, I was joking!"

"What?!" Dellinger pulled the curtains away. "Are you saying this dress doesn't make me look nice?"

Bellamy was about to protest before seeing the dress on him. Even if he didn't have the curves or the chest to fill out the top, but he had to admit. Dellinger actually looked good in a dress. Dellinger grinned, spinning around in it. It was a short white summer dress with small pink dots on it. He scratched the back of his head, looking away a bit flustered.

Dellinger snickered at the reaction before looking at himself in the mirror. "I think I look amazing." And though Bellamy didn't say it out loud, he had agreed with the fishmen.

By now, Bellamy was carrying around a few bags as Dellinger was leading him. He said that there was still one more store left that he really wanted to go and it was located on the main street of the village. The devil fruit user noticed how Dellinger's tone wasn't as excited despite wanting to go to this store. He figured the fishmen was finally tired and that this last store would actually be their last store. They had turned around the corner into the main street.

There was happy chatter all around them. People were bargaining with prices at food stands and kids running around gleefully in a game. Others were cheering from a nearby bar or chatting happily with a person. Bellamy has even spotted a pirate here and there. None of which had a big bounty, but he's recognized their faces before. All of them had intermingled in what appears to be a high-spirited town.

But as cheerful as the environment was, he did notice the fact that the people around them were almost avoiding eye contact to them. When they got closer, the kids were pulled away almost shielded from them. None of the pirates paid any mind so he assumed most of these people were locals. A few were giving them a dirty look.

Bellamy was used to this type of treatment so he hadn't minded. Being a pirate after all wasn't a hero's job and most people often hated them unless they had money to spend. He looked forward ignoring the looks until he noticed the drop in enthusiasm from the fishmen.

Dellinger had kept his gaze down, staring at the dirt path. It was nothing like the proud fishmen. This one had looked defeated and wanted to hide from all the stares. It made Bellamy want to rid each and every person that made him feel that way. Dellinger probably would find amusement in it, but it was probably not the best move at this time.

Instead, Bellamy quickens his pace until he's walking by Dellinger. He shifted some of the bags over to one arm and reached out, holding Dellinger's hand. This seemed to have gotten Dellinger's attention as he looked up.

"Come on Dellinger, let's head to the store. Where is it?"

That seemed to help as Dellinger smiled holding onto his hand and pulling him forward. "This way!" He allowed the guy to lead him. It wasn't like he would know the way anyways. He watched from the corner of his eyes at the people. They looked absolutely disgusted, which worked well enough for him. Whether they were directed to himself or Dellinger, the gesture had cheered Dellinger up.

They arrived at the store and Bellamy immediately recognized it. It was a high end clothing store that he's notice on islands that attracted tourists. He's never bothered with it, but he remember the girls in his crew had really liked the store.

"You want to go shopping here?" Dellinger nodded, but he didn't make a move to enter. Bellamy looked at him confused before walking in first. Dellinger followed afterwards.

A man, tall and lanky approached them, forcing a wide smile. Immediately Bellamy knew he wasn't going to like him. "Welcome to the store valued cus-" And in a split second Bellamy noticed the look of hatred before turning directly towards him. "It's you again."

Dellinger only smiled. "I bought money this time."

The man scoffed as if he wouldn't believe a word the fishmen said. He turned back to Bellamy, smiling again while rubbing his hands together. "My apologies, it appears this thing had followed you in. I'll call security right away."

Bellamy was amazed by the face that he hasn't pummeled the guy's face in yet. "Oi, this fishmen's with me." Bellamy pulled Dellinger towards him. "Now unless you want me to leave with my gold, make yourself scarce." Bellamy had pulled out his small bag full of gold, just to prove his point. Immediately he could see the conflicting emotions within the man's eyes of both greed and hatred.

"Of course, of course. Always glad to have you as our value customers. Please consult any of us if you need anything." And with that he took off hastily.

He scoffed at the sudden change in tone. _Typical._ Bellamy was about to ask where Dellinger wanted to look, but it was clear Dellinger's attention was towards the shoes section. They headed towards the shoes where Dellinger immediately looked around in fascination. Bellamy sighed as he sat down in a chair again. He figured it'll be a while again.

He watched the fishmen, while keeping an eye on the manager. The tall man has been circling around the area like a hawk stalking it's prey. He only shook his head before noticing Dellinger sitting by the chair next to him with a variety of boxes. He grinned as he pulled out a pair of stilettos.

"Bells, these look like a weapon."

"Yea they're called ankle breakers. Girls magically can walk and run in them without breaking something."

Dellinger had put them on, walking around naturally. "Really? I had tried them on in a different store and asked what you think, but you were asleep."

And he'd still be asleep if he didn't have to watch over him. "So you're going to get the heels?"

Dellinger mused as he stared at the color. He then walked towards the other boxes, the heels clacking against the polished floor before pulling out the box with a pair of dark purple ones. "I'm going to get this one."

"Good enough." He got up and pushed him towards the clothes. "Let's pick out an outfit then." He realized how quickly the fishmen could change his mind and he just wanted this shopping trip to be over with.

Dellinger had slipped out of the heels he was trying on and headed towards the clothing section. "Help me find a good shirt to go with that cream cardigan."

"…the what?"

Dellinger rolled his eyes. "The white sweater jacket as you so called it." He pulled out a few of the brighter colors before skipping over to Bellamy. "Which color do you think would go well with the cardigan?"

Bellamy looked at some of the colors. Most were bright, loud colors, but somehow they didn't match him. He looked around before pulling out a shirt that had caught his eye. He grabbed it before putting it in front of the fishmen. "I think this goes better with your eyes."

Dellinger held the bright red shirt before looking at him. "Really I don't think they go well with my eyes right now."

"I meant your other eyes. They look more beautiful than your current ones."

He didn't expect Dellinger to blush nor the sudden kick to his shins causing him to kneel over. "Goddamn it Dellinger! That's the last time I give you a compliment!"

"Then don't say embarrassing things!" Still a bit flushed.

Bellamy rubbed his leg, at least he'll have a matching bruise on both leg. "Alright fine, we'll find another color."

"No… I want the red one."

Bellamy looked up to the fishmen who put away the other colors and kept the red one he picked out. There was still a light blush on his cheeks which Bellamy found cute. He stood on both feet again. "Is there anything else you want?"

Dellinger shook his head as they bought the shoes and shirt before heading out. Once they were back at Dellinger's house, he changed into his new outfit, smiling happily. The dark purple heels have given him some height to at least reach his shoulders. The old bright blue pants were replaced with a grayish-turquoise shorts held up by a belt with a fish as the buckle. The bright red shirt he picked out had looked just as he imaged on him. The went well with the red eyes along with the cream colored cardigan. Bellamy still wasn't sure about the mix of colors, but the fishmen seemed happy and he did look nice in it. He helped cut the back of the shirt and cardigan so that the fin wouldn't have any problems retracting.

Dellinger smiled listening to the clacking of the dark purple heels as he walked around the house. Bellamy watched him before looking around the house. It's been over a month since he's been here. He still remember the first time he woke up here and how much he was set on leaving before the deal was over. Dellinger hadn't let him out of the bed and he remembered all the thoughts that went through his mind of wanting to leave.

Now, he was hesitant in leaving. At least, not without bringing Dellinger along. He had considered staying longer, but he still had so much he had to do and needed to return back to Dressrosa. Besides, Dellinger would probably like Dressrosa. "Dellinger."

Dellinger hadn't turned towards him, like he could sense the question. "I… won't leave the island with you Bells." He kept his gaze down.

Bellamy looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Dellinger just smiled, holding his arms behind him. "I'm positive. I've lived here my whole life. I like it here."

"Even if the people here are-"

"Yes even if." He cut him off. "They don't bother me and I don't bother them. It's a simple rule, really. Besides, how else am I going to cultivate my human farm for my meal?" He joked.

Bellamy chuckled, but he had felt disappointed. The fishmen only smiled trying to reassure him. It didn't, but he returned a sad smile. "Fine. If you're that sure." He had wanted to drag him along, but even Bellamy knew that he couldn't force Dellinger into it. The small man had his own priorities. He would've love to have his company along, but what could he expect. The man was unpredictable. "Alright." He stood up. "Thank you for taking care of me for the month."

"And here I thought you were going to bleed to death before we could even go shopping." Bellamy was about to protest until he felt Dellinger wrap his arms around him for a hug. "Don't be stupid and sail into a typhoon again…" He buried his face into his chest. "And come back and visit one day."

Bellamy returned the hug, wrapping his arms tightly against him. "I promise if I'm ever in the area, I'll stop by."

* * *

Dellinger watched Bellamy head back into town. He had wanted to go and see off, but he knew how cruel the people were at the docks. He hadn't wanted to impede Bellamy being able to get on one of the boats. As he sat on the bed, the once joyful feel of the house had felt as dead as the wood that held it standing. He hadn't realized how lonely it was in this house. He knew how different it'll be now that Bellamy is gone.

He looked down at his new clothes, smiling at the gift Bellamy had given him even if it was a result of a deal. He pulled in his legs before hiding his face in his legs. It had felt painful. This pain in his chest when Bellamy had left. But he just knew he wouldn't belong in that world either. In a world with him as a pirate. Pirates were always traveling and he didn't want to continuously go to a new island and be scorn at for what he was. But at the same time, he was happy that Bellamy had accepted him for who he was. He had given him more of a chance than anyone else and he was grateful for it.

He shook his head as he got up. Going swimming had always helped him clear his mind and maybe rid him of this pain in his chest. As he walked out to the shore, he noticed a boat docked there. It was strange, no boats were usually out here unless they were hiding.

He shrugged it off as he headed towards the water. It wasn't his problem if they wanted to cause problems in the village. Dellinger didn't owe the villagers anything. If the people in there was going to cause trouble in the village, so be it. However, as he was about to dive into the water, he noticed the people return back to the tiny boat, dragging along someone in chains. This was usually when he pretended he didn't see it and swim off, but he knew those tattoos on the person's shoulders. After all, he's been looking at them each day for an entire month.

"Bells." He whispered as he jumped into the water and darted towards the boat. Sure the man was a bit stupid sometimes, but he doubt that he would willing go on a boat in chains. There wasn't any Marines this island, he was sure the people would've said something to get him tossed off the island, so that left him with bounty hunters. Dellinger still didn't understand much about it, but he knew Bellamy was in trouble and that was all he needed to know.

Dellinger had easily kept up with the boat, but he was starting to worry about the direction they were going. He wouldn't be able to follow they had hit the currents. The boat had a motor on it so they could easily get pass it. As they got closer, Dellinger had to make a choice, stay back and let them leave with Bellamy or find a way past the currents.

He picked the latter and grabbed onto the bottom of the boat. There wasn't much to grab on, but he had to try his best to hold on long enough to get pass the currents. Immediately, his hand almost slipped the moment they got into the stream of currents. But he kept himself against the boat the best he could. He wasn't about to let someone take Bellamy away, not this way.

Once it was safe, Dellinger had let go and followed the boat on his own accord. He did, however, turn around in the direction of the island. He had officially left the island, he didn't know how he felt about it, but he had other matters to take care of. Dellinger had noticed the bigger ship.

The boat had stopped by the bigger boat where it was slowly being lifted up. Dellinger poked his head out of the water looking up. Immediately he felt himself get cold feet. The ship was huge and the only way on the ship was up on deck. He could hear some of the people cheer the moment boat was brought up.

He frowned a bit, wondering what the hell Bellamy was doing. Wasn't he a pirate? Why hasn't he attacked or done something? He had wanted to jump up there and asked what was going on, but he gulped when he looked up at the scale that he would have to jump. He ducked his head underwater as he frowned. What could he do? He was terrified to jump that high, or jump in general. But he knew Bellamy would be in more trouble than it was worth to do nothing.

Trying to push his fears to the back of his head, he swam straight down to the ocean floor. He prayed that his fighting fish heritage included the ability to jump high as Bellamy claimed. His heels touched the sand below as he looked up towards the surface.

He let out a breath as he mentally prepared himself. Before he could second guess himself, he kicked off from the ocean floor and swam as fast as he could launching himself out of the water and landing on the deck surrounded by bounty hunters.

The hunters had looked just as surprised as Dellinger who was amazed that he not only jumped onto the ship, but he also stuck the landing.

Bellamy gapped seeing Dellinger standing in the middle of the deck. "Dellinger?!"

The fishmen smiled turning towards him. "Bells!" Before he could do anything a sword swung towards him. Dellinger had easily dodged before kicking the man in the stomach sending him flying into the wall. "Excuse you. I'm in the middle of a conversation."

"Who are you?" The bounty hunters had their weapons out ready to attack.

A moment like this any normal being would feels scared, but Dellinger had felt this rush of adrenaline like he was supposed to be in this situation. His eyes glowed as he grinned widely. "Anyone would get mad if their toy is taken away from them."

In a blink of an eye, he disappeared and impaled a person with his horns. Pulling his horns back, he kicked the man away and continue to attack the hunters one by one. A single kick had sent people flying. An attack with his horns had left them twisting around in pain. In his eyes, they had moved too slowly, in just a few milliseconds he was could appear in front of a person that was a few feet away.

He eventually got to Bellamy. The pirate looked okay, there wasn't any major damages to him. "What's wrong Bells? Can't get out of a simple chain?"

"This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't seastone."

Dellinger chuckled. "You know for a pirate with a hundred and ninety-five million beli bounty, it's a miracle you're still running around. First the ocean now these seastone. How many other weaknesses do you have, Bells?"

"Shut up and find the key for the locks." He said when he noticed Dellinger had taken the chains and broke them with his teeth. "…or you can chew through it like noodles…"

"Faster than finding a key." He let the chains drop to the floor as Bellamy stood up.

This had made some of the people take a step back. Bellamy only grinned as he crouched down turning his legs into springs. "You didn't want to be a pirate and yet you've basically fought like any other pirate." He joined the fight, taking out as many people as he could to get back to them.

Dellinger laughed, but ran back in. He had marveled in the fight. Never had he thought that he would enjoy fighting like this. He could only guess that it was in his bloodline to. As he was kicking another person off the side of the ship, he noticed from the corner of his eye Bellamy was bouncing around using daggers to pierce them.

Dellinger was about to focus on his own killings when he saw one of the bigger hunters grabbed Bellamy's leg and tossed him off the ship. The fishmen's eyes widen as his instincts told him to run after the devil fruit user. "Bellamy!" He dove into the water after him.

He could see Bellamy was already sinking. His hand was over his mouth and nose trying to hold his breath. Dellinger swam towards him grabbing onto his arm, grinning when he saw Bellamy looked up towards him. At least he hasn't passed out again. He brought Bellamy back to the surface. He coughed out some of the water as he started to breath again.

"Dellinger, catch that boat."

He didn't need to question it as he told Bellamy to hold his breath again. He dove heading straight down before returning back up in a faster speed, flying into the air again. They landed on the deck, shocking the hunters who were currently trying to take care of their injured.

In one swift movement, the two had taken out the rest of the crew, tossing them all overboard. Once the people were gone, Bellamy had went to search for his bag of treasure before pulling out the journal that was in it. He let out a sigh of relief before turning towards Dellinger. "Thanks… again." He spoke awkwardly. "We can turn the ship around if you want?"

Dellinger had shifted his weight on one hip, folding his arms. "I swear, I feel like I'm always saving you Bells. Are you danger prone or something?" He grinned when Bellamy glared at him. "So I guess, maybe I should come along to make sure you don't go dying on me."

Bellamy stared, his mouth slightly open. It had taken a few seconds before Dellinger was pulled into a hug. Dellinger smiled, returning the hug. For once in his lifetime, he had felt happy. It felt right to be with him. Like he had belonged and was accepted. Bellamy on the other hand, couldn't believe his ears as he held onto the fishmen tightly like if he had let go, Dellinger would change his mind.

The two released from their embrace with the same thought running through their mind.

 _I hadn't realized how much I needed someone… until I met you._


End file.
